ADSL connection noise on line despite 3 filters and new HH2

ADSL been working OK, if slowly, for years. Suddenly, connection drops after a few mins.

Then reconnects, then drops. It's a non-techy friend who gives up after a week of trying to make sense of BT tech "support" and calls me. I pickup phone, hear a lot of static and crackling, and a hissing sound. Unplug ADSL modem, hissing gone, plugin modem, hear faint squawking sounds and hissing.

We try a new filter. We unplug everything from the other sockets. We unplug the phone. We plug modem and filter straight into master socket Still the hissing and drops. She says she's been explaining this noise to BT for about a week. She says they "do something", and it works fine for about half an hour, then it drops.

So, I phone up and insist that their old home hub is swapped out for a new one. New HH2 arrives, new filters put in, and still the hissing and drops persists.

We phone faults, they say the voice line is OK and to report it to broadband faults. Broadband faults say to replace the filters. WE HAVE DONE! We're on the second router and 4th filter!

Is it possible that whatever multiplexes/overlays the ADSL signal onto the copper at the exchange could have failed in some way, in the same way that a failed filter lets noise through?

As I'm sure you know, phoning BT support is such an unpleasant and painful process, I don't even think I can bear it myself any more, and this poor woman has phone them 6 times! It wouldn't be so bad if the robots could deviate from a script, or even knew enough basic English to know you don't refer to someone as "Mr/Mrs Firstname".

I'd post the results of the BT Line Speed tester, but the connection never stays up long enough to complete.
Other speed tests show about 110k down, 32k or so up.

So, can anyone suggest anything to get out of this buck-passing game of telephone tennis where the poor woman is getting bounced from ADSL to faults and back forever, and having to start the whole process of fault diagnosis from the start every time?

Re: ADSL connection noise on line despite 3 filters and new

You say this is with the kit connected in to the test socket of the NTE ? If so, that sounds very much like an HR (high resistance) fault. Yes, it's a line fault, but to ensure that the engineer who comes to fix it has the correct test kit, and understands the symptoms, keep moaning at BT Broadband to have them raise an SFI visit or Boost task. If they won't do this, call their bluff and ask for the MAC code, as you wish to use a different provider who will deal with it.

Have you tried PM'ing BT Care on this forum ? He seems to get stuff done....

Re: ADSL connection noise on line despite 3 filters and new

If so, that sounds very much like an HR (high resistance) fault. Yes, it's a line fault, but to ensure that the engineer who comes to fix it has the correct test kit, and understands the symptoms, keep moaning at BT Broadband to have them raise an SFI visit or Boost task. If they won't do this, call their bluff and ask for the MAC code, as you wish to use a different provider who will deal with it.

Re: ADSL connection noise on line despite 3 filters and new

Riiiight - does anyone want to know where they're at, nearly a month "down the line"?

Four - yes, 4 - visits from BT later, and they have a new socket in the bedroom, with an ADSL splitter built in. This has made a difference - the difference being that the home hub now doesn't work AT ALL in the end of the house they use it. Connected to the spiffy new socket in the bedroom, the symptoms are the same. Crackly line, router quite audible with clicks and buzzes as it connects, and loud hiss when connected.

I popped round again this evening because the 4th engineer had just left, having fitted this new socket. Now here's an interesting thing or two:

The couple said the engineer had done a couple of speed tests on their laptop last Thursday and said it was "running fine now", so they couldn't understand why someone turned up today. I looked at their history, and he'd used Speedtest.net. Here you go - here are the two Thursday speed tests he did which were "running fine":
One at 4:26pm http://speedtest.net/result/1484579530.png and one at 4:59pm after he'd "fixed things": http://speedtest.net/result/1484636510.png
Doesn't look very fixed to me.

They wouldn't be so peeved if it had never been better, but their kids used to play the wii, they could watch iplayer, and I was the one who did a large update on their laptop in the summer and it was at least 3Mbs then.

Since "the noise" came on the line, it's been almost unusable slow and unreliable. Bearing in mind I got involved on 29th August after they'd "reached the end of their tether" with tech support fobbing them off, this is utterly disgusting.

I've saved the best 'til last though - the engineer who came last week went outside to make a phone call back to base (we assume). Except this woman's husband was sitting right the other side of the open window he was standing by, and he clearly heard him say "earth fault" (as had been pointed out here ages ago), but best yet, the engineer had said (on the mobile) that the line was "completely shot" and the "whole thing needed replacing".

What he came back in and told the customer was different, he fiddled a bit but they weren't quite sure with what, then did the speed test and said "everything looks fine now" and left.

Tomorrow morning at 8am, the engineer is going to ring to check if this new box worked. What do they say? I said I'd be on hand to kick butt if need be - these poor friend's of mine aren't very computer/tech knowledgeable.

These people are out in the sticks at the end of a line, old bit of copper. Sounds like BT are trying to cop out of paying to fix the line properly.

Personally, I'm in the mood to suggest they approach a watchdog or governing body or some sort of ombudsman. What do you think?

Re: ADSL connection noise on line despite 3 filters and new

Riiiight - does anyone want to know where they're at, nearly a month "down the line"?

Four - yes, 4 - visits from BT later, and they have a new socket in the bedroom, with an ADSL splitter built in. This has made a difference - the difference being that the home hub now doesn't work AT ALL in the end of the house they use it. Connected to the spiffy new socket in the bedroom, the symptoms are the same. Crackly line, router quite audible with clicks and buzzes as it connects, and loud hiss when connected.

I popped round again this evening because the 4th engineer had just left, having fitted this new socket. Now here's an interesting thing or two:

The couple said the engineer had done a couple of speed tests on their laptop last Thursday and said it was "running fine now", so they couldn't understand why someone turned up today. I looked at their history, and he'd used Speedtest.net. Here you go - here are the two Thursday speed tests he did which were "running fine":
One at 4:26pm http://speedtest.net/result/1484579530.png and one at 4:59pm after he'd "fixed things": http://speedtest.net/result/1484636510.png
Doesn't look very fixed to me.

They wouldn't be so peeved if it had never been better, but their kids used to play the wii, they could watch iplayer, and I was the one who did a large update on their laptop in the summer and it was at least 3Mbs then.

Since "the noise" came on the line, it's been almost unusable slow and unreliable. Bearing in mind I got involved on 29th August after they'd "reached the end of their tether" with tech support fobbing them off, this is utterly disgusting.

I've saved the best 'til last though - the engineer who came last week went outside to make a phone call back to base (we assume). Except this woman's husband was sitting right the other side of the open window he was standing by, and he clearly heard him say "earth fault" (as had been pointed out here ages ago), but best yet, the engineer had said (on the mobile) that the line was "completely shot" and the "whole thing needed replacing".

What he came back in and told the customer was different, he fiddled a bit but they weren't quite sure with what, then did the speed test and said "everything looks fine now" and left.

Tomorrow morning at 8am, the engineer is going to ring to check if this new box worked. What do they say? I said I'd be on hand to kick butt if need be - these poor friend's of mine aren't very computer/tech knowledgeable.

These people are out in the sticks at the end of a line, old bit of copper. Sounds like BT are trying to cop out of paying to fix the line properly.

Personally, I'm in the mood to suggest they approach a watchdog or governing body or some sort of ombudsman. What do you think?

Well i wouldn't be paying for such a poor service, but yeah try watchdog, but i wouldn't hold my breath on them helping your friends, as it's only one case, are the neighbours also affected in a similar way,noisy lines? you could take this up with bt broadbands adr people if they won't fix it, they may be able to get some of the money back that they have paid for such a poor service

Re: ADSL connection noise on line despite 3 filters and new

Riiiight - does anyone want to know where they're at, nearly a month "down the line"?

Four - yes, 4 - visits from BT later, and they have a new socket in the bedroom, with an ADSL splitter built in. This has made a difference - the difference being that the home hub now doesn't work AT ALL in the end of the house they use it. Connected to the spiffy new socket in the bedroom, the symptoms are the same. Crackly line, router quite audible with clicks and buzzes as it connects, and loud hiss when connected.

I popped round again this evening because the 4th engineer had just left, having fitted this new socket. Now here's an interesting thing or two:

The couple said the engineer had done a couple of speed tests on their laptop last Thursday and said it was "running fine now", so they couldn't understand why someone turned up today. I looked at their history, and he'd used Speedtest.net. Here you go - here are the two Thursday speed tests he did which were "running fine":
One at 4:26pm http://speedtest.net/result/1484579530.png and one at 4:59pm after he'd "fixed things": http://speedtest.net/result/1484636510.png
Doesn't look very fixed to me.

They wouldn't be so peeved if it had never been better, but their kids used to play the wii, they could watch iplayer, and I was the one who did a large update on their laptop in the summer and it was at least 3Mbs then.

Since "the noise" came on the line, it's been almost unusable slow and unreliable. Bearing in mind I got involved on 29th August after they'd "reached the end of their tether" with tech support fobbing them off, this is utterly disgusting.

I've saved the best 'til last though - the engineer who came last week went outside to make a phone call back to base (we assume). Except this woman's husband was sitting right the other side of the open window he was standing by, and he clearly heard him say "earth fault" (as had been pointed out here ages ago), but best yet, the engineer had said (on the mobile) that the line was "completely shot" and the "whole thing needed replacing".

What he came back in and told the customer was different, he fiddled a bit but they weren't quite sure with what, then did the speed test and said "everything looks fine now" and left.

Tomorrow morning at 8am, the engineer is going to ring to check if this new box worked. What do they say? I said I'd be on hand to kick butt if need be - these poor friend's of mine aren't very computer/tech knowledgeable.

These people are out in the sticks at the end of a line, old bit of copper. Sounds like BT are trying to cop out of paying to fix the line properly.

Personally, I'm in the mood to suggest they approach a watchdog or governing body or some sort of ombudsman. What do you think?

Well i wouldn't be paying for such a poor service, but yeah try watchdog, but i wouldn't hold my breath on them helping your friends, as it's only one case, are the neighbours also affected in a similar way,noisy lines? you could take this up with bt broadbands adr people if they won't fix it, they may be able to get some of the money back that they have paid for such a poor service

Ring BT and explain very clearly that you/your client/friend would like this to be referred to their PTO or you will take matters to your local MP. We had a similar issue on the estate nearly 2 years ago and the ISP's & BT were saying there was no problem. I took it to the local MP who made waves and a PTO was put onto my case. It took him a few days but he located & resolved the problems. In my case engineers had been working on the local cabinets and had failed to reconnect everything properly and it was creating havoc. Of course BT senior execs still lied to the MP and put it in writing that there wasn't a problem and I/the estate couldn't sustain speeds over 1.5mb when we had been getting in excess of 2mb, some of us 2.7mb for several years. It was abysmal with people getting dial-up speeds, constant drop-outs or just being unable to connect. You have to be tough with them or they will continue to fob you off.

Re: ADSL connection noise on line despite 3 filters and new

No broadband! But I've done it on their behalf. Here's more info - it's been since late July when this problem started...

This relates to your customer, XXX. Since their broadband troubles started, they've had 5 visits (1 failed to turn up), at least 11 phone calls, and each time they come and tell her something else, then say to "monitor it for 24 hours" - and of course, it fails again. She is now at the end of her tether and REALLY needs someone to take charge of it. Can you please give her a call, and not someone from an India call centre. Have you any idea how bad it is trying to talk to someone in those call centres? Please can someone from the UK give her a call, and just deal with it?

They keep telling her that the hissing noise she hears from the modem is "normal" and that constant dropping is OK. Now they've given her "a load of tiny little green and white things" which they say she should put round the cable in the loft - she has to do this before they can move her master socket. EH!? I've not seen these things myself, but it all sounds like nonsense.

Re: ADSL connection noise on line despite 3 filters and new

And so it goes on... I popped round today and she showed me this handful of clips they'd left her: image. Apparently they said she had to use them to "join the white and green wires every few metres in the loft" before they could move the master socket to the hall. You see, moving the master socket would stop the interference from the modem apparently. You know, the interference that started at the end of July, them having lived there for 5 years.

She'd been writing all the outages, phone calls and visits in a notebook - several pages so far! The most recent engineer to visit said that (and I'm only quoting her) there was a fault with the "HR disc" - at least, that's what she'd written down. The upshot was that until this disc(?) completely fails, he said they can't do anything about it, and it might take two years before it fails. Does this make any sense to anyone? It's turning into a total farce - I tried to show her Plusnet over a cup of tea, but their internet is so slow it wouldn't even load that! And the hiss and crackle on the line is terrible. How they can say it "sounds OK" to them is beyond belief.

Engineer number 6 is visiting on Tuesday. Then it's ombudsman after that if it's not fixed because they've not seen a penny of the credit they've been promised yet.